The reining Flag Football Player of the Year Zebrielle Canaday was excited and confident heading into the district semifinal game against rival Winter Haven. But she also felt some pressure because she knew the program had a whole new team from last year.
To combat this issue, Canaday knew she needed to adjust because most coaches study and developed their game plan focused on her, so she made the biggest adjustment possible, and it showed. In that game she posted five offensive touchdowns — passing and running — and a pick-six, which led to a 45-26 win over Winter Haven on April 21.
This performance, along with her year’s showcase comprising 901 passing yards and six touchdowns, while running the rock for 1,156 yards and 20 touchdowns, showed why she is the best. These stats are the end product on how she stacked up against the competition. States aside, she continually exhibits that she is the quickest and most of the time, the fastest player on the field. She just so happens to play quarterback so with the ball in her hands all the time, she’s constantly either throwing or running for scores.
And for this, Canaday is once more The Ledger’s 2026 Player of the Year.
“It feels great to be named Player of the Year again. I’m grateful for my coaches, teammates, and family who helped me achieve it,” Canaday said.
Haines City head flag football coach Stephen Stansbury has seen how Canaday has developed into the best player in the county.
“I’m super proud of Z and what she’s accomplished in her high school career, not only for what she did in flag football, but what she did in basketball. Z is a multialented sport athlete. She can pretty much accomplish anything she wants. The biggest reason is because she’s super coachable, she listens to her coaches, she’s always respectful when it comes to a game plan. Z is a super special young lady that has done well for herself. I wish her well in her future.”
And the future is about what one has learned in the past and how they can apply it. Well this year, Haines City had a new team full of freshman and a lot of folks playing flag football for the first time ever. But Canaday didn’t question her cards dealt; she led the bunch to a trip to the regional quarterfinals against the second-best team in the nation, which led to a 9-4 record on the year.
Next up for Canaday is attending Livingstone College in North Carolina to play basketball and flag football while majoring in sports management.
“I’m excited for the opportunity and ready to work hard at the next level,” Canaday said.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Haines City flag football Zebrielle Canaday earns top honor again
Reporting by Robert Magobet, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Magobet, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
